RP, US set talks for deployment of US commandos in Sulu

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes will discuss this month with US officials the possibility of American troops training the Philippine military on battling the Abu Sayyaf, Philippine and US officials said.

Both Manila and Washington are studying the possibility of deploying US special forces in Jolo, Sulu where they might be exposed to greater risk of clashes with the Islamic kidnap gang, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Upon the invitation of the US government, Reyes will leave for Honolulu, Hawaii on Feb. 23 to discuss the matter with Adm. Thomas Fargo, commander of US forces in the Pacific region, the officials said.

On Feb. 28 he will take up the subject with his US counterpart Donald Rumsfeld in Washington.

"These discussions have been going on for more than a month or so, and your government has not made a decision," one US official told The STAR. "So what we do is continue the talks."

He said the possible deployment in Jolo is being studied carefully because of a ban by the Philippine Constitution on foreign troops fighting on local soil and because of different military conditions there.

Because of Jolo’s distance from major Philippine military bases and its difficult terrain, US troops might have greater chances of clashing with the al-Qaeda-linked gunmen, the official said.

The Abu Sayyaf is a small group that styles itself as an Islamic rebel group fighting for an independent Muslim state in Mindanao but its activities are mostly kidnapping-for-ransom.

Western intelligence agencies have linked the Abu Sayyaf to Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda terrorist network.

Early last year, about 1,000 US troops spent six months mainly in Basilan province in the south to train the Philippine military on fighting terrorists.

The exercises resulted in the killing of a flamboyant Abu Sayyaf leader and spokesman, Abu Sabaya, and the rescue of American missionary, Gracia Burnham. Burnham’s husband, Martin, and Filipina nurse Edibora Yap, however, were killed in the rescue attempt.

Two hundred US soldiers in Zamboanga City are overseeing civil infrastructure projects, which are part of Washington’s security commitment to the Philippines, a long-time US ally.

Officials said an additional 100 US soldiers are to arrive late this month for joint counter-terrorism exercises with Philippine troops.

Philippine authorities have warned of possible "sympathy attacks" by Islamic militants against vital installations and US interests in the country amid US war threats on Iraq.